Solutions Life Cycle Management

The Solutions Life Cycle Management Standard provides information and processes for managers and decision makers who are considering purchasing new information technology solutions or services. The standard defines required engagement with purchasing and the RIT Information Security Office and provides additional information about managing solutions from initial consideration of the solutions to their retirement.

Scope

The standard applies to new IT services (including third-party and RIT-hosted, and software as a service) that meet any one or more of the following:

  • host or provide access to Private or Confidential information
  • support a Critical Business Process

Requirements

The following security controls are required to be implemented.

Contact the Information Security Office and ITS prior to investigating, evaluating, selecting, or developing a new solution.

ITS will determine applicable security requirements and provide a preliminary risk assessment.

Any proposed contract will be reviewed and revised in accordance with procurement services procedures under the direction of RIT Procurement Services.

  • The solution owner will inform ITS of any changes to the security requirements during development.
  • Solutions development, testing, and production should be performed in separate environments.
  • Test data should not include Private or Confidential information unless the security controls in test and development are the same as those in production.
  • The solution owner should identify solution administrators.
  • ITS will conduct a Security Review.
  • ITS will perform an appropriate vulnerability assessment and penetration test before solution implementation.

The solution owner is responsible for ensuring that the security impact of any change is evaluated and notify ITS and the Information Security Office accordingly if there is a potential increase in risk.

  • The solution owner will ensure that the solution is evaluated at an appropriate interval and retired if appropriate.
  • The solution administrator should ensure that Information is retained in accordance with the Records Management Policy, and to accommodate future technology changes that may render the retrieval method obsolete.
  • The solution administrator should ensure that Information is disposed of as required by the Information Access and Protection Standard.

Who does the standard apply to?

RIT departments exploring new IT services (including third-party and RIT-hosted, and software as a service) that meet any one or more of the following:

  • Host or provide access to Private or Confidential information
  • Support a Critical Business Process

Key Concepts

  • Provides critical vs. non-critical business continuity classifications.
  • Requires the establishment of recovery point objectives, creation of appropriate documentation, and contingency planning for disaster recovery and business continuity.
  • Provides disaster recovery and restoration requirements for IT support organizations.

Resources

Information Access and Protection Questionnaire (IAPQ)--provided by the RIT Business Office to the Information Security Office (ISO) and Project Management Office (PMO).

Effective Date: January 23, 2015

Standard History: November 11, 2013